Duralumin vs. Titanium

[Djanello]

I often see Titanium mentioned as being superior for use in the men due to being stronger. Is there any difference elsewhere except for titanium being heavier or is duralumin in danger of bending to heavy hits?

I'm just wondering why I'd like a titanium men if it's heavier.

[Halcyon]

I often see Titanium mentioned as being superior for use in the men due to being stronger. Is there any difference elsewhere except for titanium being heavier or is duralumin in danger of bending to heavy hits?

I'm just wondering why I'd like a titanium men if it's heavier.

Titanium is rarely used in a pure form, which has a relatively high specific gravity, i.e. density. Titanium is normally used as an alloy with aluminum. Duralumin is another type of aluminum alloy that contains copper. For the same weight (or more accurately, for the same specific gravity), titanium-aluminum alloys tend to be stronger than other types of aluminum alloys. But it's also more expensive.

The upshot for a kendo men grille is that under regular use, there shouldn't be a big problem with duralumin. But if you can afford titanium alloys, it might be a little stronger. Any bent grilles that I have seen haven't been from a shinai strike. It's usually from dropping the men on a hard surface or from collisions between men grilles.

[Infinity]

can a shinai (strike) bend a men grill? is it physically possible?

[stuartwilson]

In the hands of an expert, probably, but the shinai would be damaged. And it would have to be in a contrived situation. I don't think it could happen with normal contact.

[Taek]

Before I had my men reconstructed and replaced my mengane with titanium, my previous duralumin mengane's monomi area got slightly bent by a missed strong tsuki thrust....it took bit of time to bent it back with a pair of plier. Apart from the bending, I also saw my duralumin mengane was getting slowly chipped away by shinai strike and crush against another mengane whereas my current titanium one only gets small scratches.

[kanyil]

I came across a different kind of hybrid mengane during my last visit to the local boguya. The top 1/3 of the horizontal mengane grill is made out of standard titanium, and the rest out of duraluminum. The price is also somewhere between a full duralumin men and a full titanium men.

This seemed like a good idea, putting the strength of titanium at the appropriate places, whilst blending such strength with the reduced weight of duralumin.